An Australian rugby league player competed for almost four months with an opponent's tooth buried in his head.

Former NRL prop Ben Czislowski needed stitches above his left eye after clashing heads with a rival on 1 April.

But Czislowski later suffered an eye infection and shooting pains until a doctor discovered the cause last week.

"I can laugh about it now but the doctor told me it could have been serious," said the 24-year-old, who now keeps the tooth on his bedside table.

Czislowski, who was playing for Brisbane team Wynnum when he clashed heads with Matt Austin, said he was prepared to mail the tooth back to its rightful owner but was holding onto it until then as proof of his bizarre injury.

Tweed Heads forward Austin lost several teeth in the incident and also broke his jaw.

In 2004, Widnes hooker Shane Millard also had an opponent's tooth removed from his head.

Two years earlier, Wigan's Jamie Ainscough's arm became so badly infected there were fears it would be amputated before the source - an imbedded tooth - was discovered.